


Some Hazardry

by Salmonellagogo



Category: Batman (Comics), Catwoman (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: Character Study, F/F, Gen, Past Batcat, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 18:01:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16815661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salmonellagogo/pseuds/Salmonellagogo
Summary: For Talia al Ghul Week. Day 3.Talia invited Selina out for a conversation after  the wedding that didn't happen.





	Some Hazardry

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Delanoble](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delanoble/gifts).



> Set after Batman 50, somewhere during the new Catwoman. This is written as a gift, and as a fill for Talia al Ghul fanweek, for the prompt: dream team. But, as always, I am late. lol. 
> 
> I'm interested to see how these two mesh without Batman in the equation.

The place was filled with rich, savory smell of cooking meats wafting to greet the customers as they walked through the door. A fortune cat sat on top of the cashier counter, waving a golden paw. Behind the counter, an old lady was hunched over a worn abacus.

It was nearly 1 a.m., but the restaurant was filled with patrons. The owner was an acquaintance. Talia had helped her through a rough patch involving the city’s underbelly, and by that merit, she was afforded a good table rather quickly; a secluded corner, separated from the rest of the establishment by a wooden screen.

The woman who served her was on the younger side of twenty. The owner’s granddaughter, maybe. Her hand trembled as she set down a pot of tea and two little cups painted with blue lotus. Talia smiled and thanked her. She bit her lower lip and nodded, said to call on her if they needed anything else.

And, as they were left alone, Talia picked up the tea pot, filling up the cups before offering one to her companion.

“It’s hot. Be careful,” she said, rather inanely.

All night, Selina hadn’t stopped watching her with narrowed eyes. She wasn’t dressed to impress that night, just a pair of blue jeans and a black hoodie, but her makeup was impeccable. And Talia guessed, it was to hide something. The woman in front of her had the air of someone who had the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Talia lifted her cup to her nostril and inhaled the earthy scent of aged Pu-Erh tea. “It gets easier,” she said without looking up. 

“What are you talking about?”

“The sleeplessness. The literal pain in your chest. They get easier.”

Selina's face betrayed nothing. She bent her head slightly. In a skin tight suit, or a low cut dress, it would be a calculated move of submission, showing off the beautiful angle of her jawline, her long neck, something to lure men in before she chewed them to strips. Talia didn't know whether she did it on purpose or otherwise. 

“Why did you invite me out tonight?” Selina asked. 

“A fly on the wall told me you're having some trouble.” 

Selina huffed. “You're spying on me?”

Talia hummed. “I keep track on people that interest me.” 

“It’s none of your business.”

“I can help you.”

“None. Of. Your. Business,” Selina said through gritted teeth and stood to leave.

“Hold,” Talia said. “Stay. For the food, at least.”

One step beyond the partition screen, the young woman from earlier was carrying a tray full of stacked bamboo steamers. She had paused there, uncertain. 

Selina spared Talia a glance. For all her bravado, there was something soft in Selina. Something that made her rethink her decision when faced with a woman scared out of her wits of Talia, or rather what she could do despite what she had done to save her grandmother’s restaurant.

Talia sipped her tea and let Selina came to her own decision. 

“I'm sorry,” Selina said to the young woman. “Please serve us.”

Nervously, the woman continued, setting down their food, one by one on the table. And, after she went, Talia picked her chopstick and inspected the dim sum.

She didn't speak for the length of their meal. Selina picked her way through the food with one eye on her. She was a suspicious creature, still guessing Talia’s intention, but that was par for the course for her to survive this long doing what she did. 

Then, as set down her chopstick, Selina said, “I will walk out from here and believe me, I will find your spies.”

“You're welcome to try,” Talia said. She put down her own chopstick and placed a business card in front of Selina. “How to get in touch with me. Only two people other than you have this.”

Selina glanced at the heavily decorated piece of card. “Let me guess, one of them is Bat.”

Talia raised an eyebrow. “Yes, but not who you think.”

Selina didn't say another word and that was Talia’s cue to leave. She walked out of the restaurant through the front door. The patrons eyes were on her until she was outside. Her silent bodyguards, hidden in the shadows, moved with her in the night. 

Selina would seek her out, eventually. That much she was certain.


End file.
